The Ultimate Android Studio Tutorial For Beginners
It’s now not frequently that a developer is born from a summertime excursion joke and a Determine’s love of furniture making. But that is exactly how Vincenzo Colucci Started out Ginlemon, a successful app business on google play.
what is Android Studio?
"Those of you with no prior experience in coding may still be wondering precisely what Android Studio’s role is when it comes to development… what is an IDE anyway?As an IDE then, Android Studio’s job is to provide the interface for you to create your apps and to handle much of the complicated file-management behind the scenes. The programming language you will be using is Java and this will be installed separately on your machine. Android Studio is simply where you will write, edit and save your projects and the files that comprise said projects. At the same time, Android Studio will give you access to the Android SDK or ‘Software Development Kit’. Think of this as an extension to the Java code that allows it to run smoothly on Android devices and take advantage of the native hardware. Java is needed to write the programs, the Android SDK is needed to make those programs run on Android and Android Studio has the job of putting it all together for you. At the same time, Android Studio also enables you to run your code, either through an emulator or through a piece of hardware connected to your machine. You’ll then also be able to ‘debug’ the program as it runs and get feedback explaining crashes etc. so that you can more quickly solve the problem.
Google has done a lot of work to make Android Studio as powerful and helpful as possible. It offers live hints while you’re coding for example and will often suggest necessary changes that can fix errors or make your code more efficient. If a variable isn’t being used, for instance, it will be highlighted grey. And if you start typing a line of code, Android Studio will provide a list of auto-complete suggestions to help you finish it; great if you can’t quite remember the correct syntax or you just want to save some time!" Reference androidauthority.com
Important Things To Know Before You Develop Android App
The Idea
The first step to any mobile application is the idea. Think of something that you, or someone you know, would find useful to have on their phone. This could be something simple, like a new way to browse your favorite website, or something more complex, that might even involve a Bluetooth device. You don't always have to innovate, you just have to do something better than what is out there.
The User Experience
Don't make the mistake of underestimating the value of your user's experience within your application. If a user gets frustrated with your app, they are likely to stop using it. Have a look at your favorite applications. What makes them pleasant to use? Ask your friends to try the app out, look for feedback and utilize it.It may help you to visualize the interface and use of your mobile application using "framework" and "timeline" software, but you can also just do it by hand on paper.
The Design
The design of your application is also very important. This includes the development of a "Brand", a consistent design throughout your application and store listing using Logos, colors, and fonts.
The Money
No one likes adverts. It's the painful truth. Ideally, you should avoid trying to monetize your application too early as you may scare away potential long-term users. It's what Amazon did, they took (and are still taking) hits with their business in order to secure long-term customers.
The Language
Despite what some people may try and tell you, the ability to write your own software is critical to a well-designed application. It may seem scary to start with, but there are a large number of guides out there, such as Codecademy, or scotch.io, that will help you. Don't try to run before you can walk.As for which language you should learn, it comes down to what you want from your application, how much you are willing to spend, and what you are most comfortable with, which will be discussed below.
Your application will have to be well developed in order to succeed. After you feel comfortable developing in your chosen language, it is time to move to mobile development.
You have a number of options here, some easier than others.
One option is React Native, which is written using Web technologies, such as JavaScript, JSX, and HTML. This is a version of Facebook's React framework that can run "Natively" (in the operating systems own language) which generally increases performance. It can be very difficult for beginners.
Another option is Xamarin, a framework recently purchased by Microsoft, which uses C# and Visual Studio.
Yet another option is ExtJS developed by Sencha, which is again, JavaScript.
The most popular IDE for Android App Development and the one I recommend for this guide is Android Studio, which is multiplatform (Windows, OSX, and Linux), and is developed by Google.
The Backend
Depending on which type of application you are looking to build, you may need a "backend", basically, a computer which deals with all the data your application requires and generates. Applications that require a backend include a social network application, or a chat application, whereas applications such as a calculator or similar generally do not require any backend code.
Generally, this is written using PHP, NodeJS or some other code that sits on a server somewhere, usually with some sort of databases such as MySQL or MongoDB. If you aren't willing to purchase and run such a machine yourself, there are options out there such as Amazon Web Services or DigitalOcean, which only charge you for the resources you use!
The Testing
Ideally, it helps to have a test device, which could be your own device. To enable development on an Android device, simply click the "Build Version" within the phone's settings, in "About this phone".If you don't have a device at hand to use, that's okay as well. Most Integrated Development Environments (IDE), including Android Studio and Visual Studio, include a device simulator for their respective operating systems. This can be useful to try different phones with slower hardware and different screen sizes, to make sure your application is widely accessible.
The Packaging
For the Google store, you have to create a "Signed APK". The APK is created by the IDE, and then "signed" using a key file that is generated using your information. This key is unique to you and makes sure that no one else can upload a copy of your application with embedded malicious code.Google Play store has its own guidelines and procedures that you must follow for it to be accepted, and it is not uncommon for applications to be rejected, so be careful.
System Requirements
You will be delighted, to know that you can start your Android application development on either of the following operating systems −
Microsoft Windows 10/8/7/Vista/2003 (32 or 64-bit)
Mac OS X 10.8.5 or higher, up to 10.9 (Mavericks)
GNOME or KDE desktop
The second point is that all the required tools to develop Android applications are open source and can be downloaded from the Web. Following is the list of software's you will need before you start your Android application programming.
Java JDK5 or later version
Java Runtime Environment (JRE) 6
Android Studio
The Ultimate Android Studio Tutorial For Beginners
Download the Android Studio 2. 3
Click on the'Start a new Android Studio project'.
In the company name you have to give a package name, so probably you have seen many package names.
Once you've done, change the project location into the main folder
Use your location, go ahead use what your PC shows you smileyYou can also use any location.
Finally, press 'Next'where you can select the minimum SDK version
Uncheck All other device categories
Hit the 'Next'
Select the activity type needed we have the 'No Activity'Basic, Bottom Navigation Activity and so on. . . Means. . . In Empty Activity, we get a blank workspace area. This is called 'Action Bar'This is the workspace. . . In 'Basic Activity', you will get an Action Bar with Back button and Menu. . . . And here's a Floating Action Button.Here are some more activities available for us. . . As it is our first tutorial, we gonna be going with the Empty ActivitySelecting.
Click 'Next'
Name the Activity, by default it is called 'MainActivity
Hit the 'Finish'[STARTING BUILD PROCESS]Gradle Building Completed!